Roxboro Hairdresser Opens In Defiance of Cooper’s Order, ‘I’m not a big fan people telling me what to do’

ROXBORO – A hairdresser in Person County is facing losing everything she “worked her fanny off for” because of Governor Roy Cooper’s shutdown order, and she wanted to make a point. She opened her salon and gave a few haircuts before police showed up to enforce the governor’s order.

From ABC11 (Emphasis Added):

“Jessica Wesley owns The Room hair salon in Roxboro. Wednesday, she announced she would ignore Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order and reopen her salon Thursday.

“I’m not a big fan people telling me what to do,” Wesley said. “Making me do something that takes away something that I have worked my fanny off for years, it doesn’t sit well with me.”

Cooper’s order is currently set to expire May 8, and businesses like The Room would not be allowed to reopen until Phase 2 of Cooper’s plan to reopen, which at the earliest could come late next month.

“I got my Clorox spray, my disinfectant wipes, my barbercide wipes. I have all of the things I am supposed to do to keep people healthy,” Wesley said, adding that she’ll be the only one in the shop, styling one head at a time and wearing a mask if asked. […]”

Yet the overbearing shutdown orders, initially sold as a way to avoid overwhelming healthcare systems, command Wesley to watch her livelihood slip away while other businesses survive by the government’s good graces.

The Roxboro Police showed up to enforce the order, but, judging from the reports, they should be commended for how they approached the situation. There are very few officers that take pleasure in enforcing orders that all parties recognize trample on core rights of citizens. These officers made it clear that they understood the message Wesley was sending, and thought it’d be best to just wrap it up. She agreed.

“[…] “I understand what you’re trying to do, I really do, but there are laws in place for this exact kind of thing that we have to abide by and enforce,” an officer said. “We really, really want you to voluntarily comply with this.”

Wesley said she understood and added, “I feel like we’ve gotten our point across. So let’s just call it quits. My point is made, and I appreciate it.”

The officer stressed the need for voluntary compliance in the City of Roxboro, adding, “nobody’s coming in here trying to slap handcuffs on anyone.” […]”

That’s the problem. The governor has criminalized the exercise of our basic rights, and put law enforcement officers in the unfortunate position of putting handcuffs on and arresting individuals that do not ‘voluntarily comply’ with the decrees.

Today, Jessica Wesley’s hair salon was shut down by Roxboro Police @ChiefDavidHess. She was in the middle of cutting hair. Go to my Facebook page to see it.
Her newborn baby girl was also in the shop. Earlier, I asked Jessica about the risk of that.
Listen to her response: pic.twitter.com/uUeWgwRLIu

— Tim Pulliam (@TimABC11) April 30, 2020

Instead of amplifying her point with an arrest, Wesley was more measured in asserting that she wanted to do things “the right way” and draw attention to the absurdity of this situation.Person County has had one death related to the coronavirus, a person with underlying conditions. Big box retail establishments are open and the parking lots at home improvement retailers are full, yet Wesley cannot cut one person’s hair to pay her bills and put food on the table.

This situation is multiplied exponentially across the state and the country, as people face economic ruin and personal crises because they are not allowed to work. More than 40+ million have lost their jobs in the last six weeks. Countless more self-employed or business owners are hanging on by a thread the longer these misguided policies persist.

Will the people of North Carolina really put up with this for very much longer? How busy are the roads around you today?